Living Vincentian Today

Living Vincentian Today…
Summer 2007
Thirty St. John’s School of Law students
spent their January 2007 winter break
providing legal services to post-Katrina
victims in New Orleans. Perhaps no place in
the U.S. provides as fertile an opportunity
for those who embrace the Vincentian
mission to make a difference by addressing the rights of the
underserved and helping the disenfranchised and needy.
Participating students also fulfilled the Vincentian teaching
mission of applying classroom learning to real life situations.
Professors Ann
Goldweber and
Keri Gould
accompanied
the students.
“Eighteen
months after
Katrina, the
justice system
was completely
broken. I am proud of the small yet integral
part that St. John’s students played in the
struggle to restore the legal system and in the
fight for victim’s legal rights,” Professor
Goldweber reports.
The trip was organized by law
student Amanda Golob in her
role as Student Hurricane
Network Representative at
St. John’s. (The Network is a
nationwide student-run
organization founded to
Aiding the Forgotten
provide long-term assistance to communities impacted by
Katrina.) The Law School funded 26 students. In the mere
five days allotted, the students met with and interviewed
prisoners, helped victims advocate before FEMA and
protected housing rights. “Talking face to face with people
who survived the hurricane and its aftermath, people who
lost everything and are now trying to rebuild what is left of
their former lives, was awe-inspiring,” says Amanda. She
adds, “the legal system down there was already troubled but
Katrina’s aftermath not only exacerbated existing problems,
but created new ones. To know that my legal education
could be used to help those in need, to improve their lives or
simply bring long awaited comfort was an amazing feeling.
It really showed me how the skills I am developing at
St. John’s can be used in the real world to bring positive
change to others.”
Contributing to the breakdown of the New Orleans legal
system is the gap resulting from the dramatic reduction in
the number of lawyers in the region coupled with a
mounting caseload, lost records and scattered information.
Prisoners charged with felonies and even misdemeanors have
been languishing in jail for months without even seeing a
lawyer. Monies to help people rebuild their homes are being
held up by legal and bureaucratic technicalities. Day laborers
are waiting for wages and consumer fraud is rampant.
St. John’s students worked
on four different projects:
one group concentrated on
assisting Katrina victims,
whose homes had been
destroyed in their struggle,
to get title to their homes
in their own names — a
prerequisite for claiming insurance or FEMA payments.
Another team interviewed unpaid day laborers, many of
whom are immigrants from Honduras and Guatemala, filling
out wage reports. They then advised contractors of their
legal obligation to pay said workers. A third
group started the process to appeal FEMA’s
attempts to recoup payments. A fourth assisted
the Public Defender’s Office. Some students
worked on compiling facts and preparing case
records for misdemeanor cases, while others
interviewed people awaiting resolution of their
felony cases. They investigated contacts and
legal status for release purposes, researched
legal issues for trial and relayed information
about case status to incarcerated individuals
who had gone months without seeing an
attorney. Many students had never interviewed
a client before, and all were shocked to
discover that some people arrested for
misdemeanors — as minimal as spitting on the
street — had been incarcerated far longer than
they would have been had they actually been convicted.
According to Professor Gould: “Students went to New
Orleans motivated by the destruction they saw on TV and
read about in the newspapers. Once there, however, they
learned that many of the preexisting poverty issues were
exaggerated by Katrina. Our students came away
understanding the importance of public interest lawyering
locally, nationally and globally.”
Keeping the Mission Alive
M1-2754/OMI
Upcoming Events:
St. John’s Vincentian mission is inspired by St. Vincent de
Paul’s compassion and zeal for service. Below are some
upcoming opportunities to keep the mission alive:
Freshman Philadelphia Plunge
August 20-23
University Service Day
Saturday, September 22
For more information, contact (718) 990-6255.
“The situation in New Orleans is an
extreme example of the problems that
institutional racism and poverty can
cause in a community,” says Debra Smith,
while Zoe Polk reports that “witnessing
this lack of due process first-hand has
reaffirmed my devotion to doing public
interest work and advocating for social
change and equality.”
“The fractured legal system in post-Katrina New Orleans is a
call to arms, a chance to make a difference by people like
me who are blessed with the tools of a legal education,”
says Amanda, reflecting the view of her fellow students.
Executive Vice President for
Mission and Branch Campuses
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
www.stjohns.edu
First Class Mail
U.S. Postage
PAID
St. John’s University
New York

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Living Vincentian Today…
Summer 2007
Thirty St. John’s School of Law students
spent their January 2007 winter break
providing legal services to post-Katrina
victims in New Orleans. Perhaps no place in
the U.S. provides as fertile an opportunity
for those who embrace the Vincentian
mission to make a difference by addressing the rights of the
underserved and helping the disenfranchised and needy.
Participating students also fulfilled the Vincentian teaching
mission of applying classroom learning to real life situations.
Professors Ann
Goldweber and
Keri Gould
accompanied
the students.
“Eighteen
months after
Katrina, the
justice system
was completely
broken. I am proud of the small yet integral
part that St. John’s students played in the
struggle to restore the legal system and in the
fight for victim’s legal rights,” Professor
Goldweber reports.
The trip was organized by law
student Amanda Golob in her
role as Student Hurricane
Network Representative at
St. John’s. (The Network is a
nationwide student-run
organization founded to
Aiding the Forgotten
provide long-term assistance to communities impacted by
Katrina.) The Law School funded 26 students. In the mere
five days allotted, the students met with and interviewed
prisoners, helped victims advocate before FEMA and
protected housing rights. “Talking face to face with people
who survived the hurricane and its aftermath, people who
lost everything and are now trying to rebuild what is left of
their former lives, was awe-inspiring,” says Amanda. She
adds, “the legal system down there was already troubled but
Katrina’s aftermath not only exacerbated existing problems,
but created new ones. To know that my legal education
could be used to help those in need, to improve their lives or
simply bring long awaited comfort was an amazing feeling.
It really showed me how the skills I am developing at
St. John’s can be used in the real world to bring positive
change to others.”
Contributing to the breakdown of the New Orleans legal
system is the gap resulting from the dramatic reduction in
the number of lawyers in the region coupled with a
mounting caseload, lost records and scattered information.
Prisoners charged with felonies and even misdemeanors have
been languishing in jail for months without even seeing a
lawyer. Monies to help people rebuild their homes are being
held up by legal and bureaucratic technicalities. Day laborers
are waiting for wages and consumer fraud is rampant.
St. John’s students worked
on four different projects:
one group concentrated on
assisting Katrina victims,
whose homes had been
destroyed in their struggle,
to get title to their homes
in their own names — a
prerequisite for claiming insurance or FEMA payments.
Another team interviewed unpaid day laborers, many of
whom are immigrants from Honduras and Guatemala, filling
out wage reports. They then advised contractors of their
legal obligation to pay said workers. A third
group started the process to appeal FEMA’s
attempts to recoup payments. A fourth assisted
the Public Defender’s Office. Some students
worked on compiling facts and preparing case
records for misdemeanor cases, while others
interviewed people awaiting resolution of their
felony cases. They investigated contacts and
legal status for release purposes, researched
legal issues for trial and relayed information
about case status to incarcerated individuals
who had gone months without seeing an
attorney. Many students had never interviewed
a client before, and all were shocked to
discover that some people arrested for
misdemeanors — as minimal as spitting on the
street — had been incarcerated far longer than
they would have been had they actually been convicted.
According to Professor Gould: “Students went to New
Orleans motivated by the destruction they saw on TV and
read about in the newspapers. Once there, however, they
learned that many of the preexisting poverty issues were
exaggerated by Katrina. Our students came away
understanding the importance of public interest lawyering
locally, nationally and globally.”
Keeping the Mission Alive
M1-2754/OMI
Upcoming Events:
St. John’s Vincentian mission is inspired by St. Vincent de
Paul’s compassion and zeal for service. Below are some
upcoming opportunities to keep the mission alive:
Freshman Philadelphia Plunge
August 20-23
University Service Day
Saturday, September 22
For more information, contact (718) 990-6255.
“The situation in New Orleans is an
extreme example of the problems that
institutional racism and poverty can
cause in a community,” says Debra Smith,
while Zoe Polk reports that “witnessing
this lack of due process first-hand has
reaffirmed my devotion to doing public
interest work and advocating for social
change and equality.”
“The fractured legal system in post-Katrina New Orleans is a
call to arms, a chance to make a difference by people like
me who are blessed with the tools of a legal education,”
says Amanda, reflecting the view of her fellow students.
Executive Vice President for
Mission and Branch Campuses
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
www.stjohns.edu
First Class Mail
U.S. Postage
PAID
St. John’s University
New York